I'm not trying to freak anyone out, but I'm wondering if any of you have done any research on the effects of the migratory birds and the asian bird flu virus. I've read a couple of articles, and they've said that in Turkey they're testing some dead local ducks for what they think is the virus. Some concerns have been raised about migratory birds being infected. As much as we all love our sport, it's probably wise to check into this. Let me know what you guys think.

There are several avian flu strains. The most dangerous is the HPAI H5N1 strain, which first appeared in Asia in 1997 and since 2003 has caused mass mortality in chickens.

Although the strain does not spread easily to humans, more than a hundred people have been infected with the virus. At least 55 people have died.

Scientists worry that H5N1 will combine with a human flu virus strain to create an exceptionally dangerous influenza that could spread easily from person to person and potentially kill millions of people.

Migratory waterfowl—particularly wild ducks—are the natural reservoir of avian influenza viruses. The birds typically do not become ill when infected with the virus. Domestic poultry, on the other hand, are highly susceptible to epidemics of avian flu viruses.

Ip notes that some bird flu epidemics arose after domestic bird flocks came in contact with wild migratory waterfowl. The USGS virologist adds that scientists suspect that H5N1 first arose in the poultry industry in China and that "movement of chickens and poultry workers contributed to spread the virus in the region."

"The $64,000 question is whether the spread [of avian flu] is by the highway or the flyway?

Last edited by gunman on Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
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Hunters are alot like Birdwatchers. Only after watching while, we start shooting!

Recent outbreaks of avian flu in Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and southwestern Siberia in Russia have been attributed to H5N1. The incidents mark the first time the virus has extended into the regions, though there is no confirmation that migratory birds brought the disease there.

But a study of birds found sick or dying on China's Lake Qinghai last spring showed that they carried H5N1. The lake is a breeding center for migrant birds from Australia to Siberia.

"A lot of waterfowls will come to the lake … and mix together," said George Gao, a biologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, who conducted the study. "This might help spread the virus once [the healthy birds] fly out again."

Birds that are not sickened by the virus pose the biggest threat for its spread. If the virus kills a bird quickly, the animal is less likely to spread the disease.

"These birds easily spread the virus, because they can still fly," said Michael Lai, a virologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
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Hunters are alot like Birdwatchers. Only after watching while, we start shooting!

Some avian flu viruses have in the past made their way from Europe and Asia into North America.

"It does not occur very frequently," said Ip, of the USGS. "But it has happened, and it will happen again in the future."

The avian flu surveys underway in Alaska have been piggybacked on already scheduled efforts to examine certain bird species, band them, and track their movements before hunting season.

Working at several Alaskan sites, bird experts have collected samples from geese and ducks by taking swabs from the birds' tailpipes to see if the birds are carrying the virus in their feces.

Among the target species is the Northern pintail, a migratory duck common in Alaska. Some Alaskan pintails are known to summer in Russia.

"If there is transmission of avian flu going on among the wild population of birds, pintails could potentially become infected and bring the virus to North America," said Russ Oates, the chief of the waterfowl branch at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage.

So far, there is no evidence of avian flu in North America. But Ip worries that it might just be a matter of time before the disease spreads out of Asia.

"The longer the virus persists in poultry, the greater the chance that, at some point, it will spread to species of wild birds that can carry the virus to new areas," the USGS virologist said. "It is like playing Russian roulette—time is not on our side."

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
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Hunters are alot like Birdwatchers. Only after watching while, we start shooting!

New Zealand health officials convened a hastily organised meeting in Wellington on Friday as news the bird flu virus had spread to Europe emerged.

Those officials and experts are now meeting every two weeks to update plans on what to do if the scenario they call "code red" becomes real.

Customs, immigration, agriculture, police, and cabinet officials are all being briefed on New Zealand's pandemic preparedness.

"Other countries have been very interested in what we've been doing and have been very keen to take away some of their lessons from the work that we've done, particularly on how well we've got all the other sectors in the country involved actively in our planning," says Dr Mark Jacobs from the Ministry of Health.

"But that's not to say there isn't more work to be done," he says.

Officials will continue working on when and how to close borders and distribute tamiflu should a pandemic arrive.

But of greater concern on Friday, the news of H5N1's spread into Europe.

"That's not surprising and I don't think that's going to be the end of the spread of bird flu, I think it will continue to spread for some time yet," Jacobs says.

Under the health ministry's Pandemic Emergency Plan, New Zealand is currently sitting code white - meaning no animal or human infection.

Code yellow would kick in once the first bird became infected here in New Zealand and code red becomes active once it spread to other birds and humans.

If we had clusters of human infections borders and schools would close followed by the government declaring a state of public emergency.

My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am.
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Hunters are alot like Birdwatchers. Only after watching while, we start shooting!

I think I would be more concerned of the disease coming in from some foriegn country on a illegal immigrant or a business traveler.....with our liberal immigration policy, I think this is a more likely scenario than some duck hunter getting it from a bird they shot.

Some of you might be too young to remember the "Swine flu" panic back in the 70's.....never materialized to the disasterous proportions that some of the press made it out to be.

However, if you wish to forgo your hunting this fall, feel free...........................................MORE BIRDS FOR ME!!! :getdown: :mrgreen:

A lot of other countries especially third world countries don't have the restrictions and preventive measures like we do in the US. For example. A lot of the poultry farms in Europe, Asia and other places are not confined. The birds are allowed to roam sort of speak and come into close contact with other animals. You won't see that in here (at least not in large scale operations). All of the chicken and turkey houses for commercial use have very strict rules about entering and exiting the facilities. Even more strict rules apply to large scale swine operations. So it does not take a genius to figure what is going to happen when infected, free roaming poultry come into close contact with free roaming swine. The virus could potentialy mutate into a more virulent form.

What researches are worried will take place is that the virus will mutate into a form that readily infects swine. Once that takes place you can be sure the World Health Organization and CDC will go into panic mode. The reasoning is that swine anatomy and physiology is very similar to that of us humans, giving probable cause that the virus will indeed readily infect us.

The little things you can do to avoid risk while hunting is to wash your hands with an alcohol based product while in the field, don't eat after handling game, cook game thoroughly, etc. Common sense stuff really.

From what I have read, it sounds like researchers suspect it to enter the US/Canada upon the next migration. Now it will be interesting to see what law makers and others do to prevent us from harvesting wild waterfowl. That's the scary thing.

Certainly there are other ways it can travel. As afore mentioned international travel will be a huge concern.

I have recently come across an article that talked about the Avian Flu, Influenza A (H5N1). It mentions that the key cells that have the appropriate receptors for the virus are very deep within the lung tissue of humans. They go on to say that unless the virus makes a very dramatic mutation, the chances of humans contracting it are very slim.

I saw the preview for the mini-movie one of the major stations is going to put out. It looks rediculous and will probably make people flip out. Take it for what's its worth....entertainment and nothing else.